Chapter 8: Showering Together

That cold, suspicious look he’d been giving me, like a detective interrogating a suspect, vanished without a trace.

Before I could even step back, Lu Mingqi strode forward, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me firmly into the bathroom.

The door slammed shut behind us.

I barely had time to react before my back met the wooden door. Lu Mingqi pressed close, his usual restraint nowhere to be found. He buried his face against my neck, kissing me with an intensity that left me breathless.

“Mingqi… easy…”

My words were swallowed by another kiss.

The shower roared overhead, filling the bathroom with warm mist. Within moments, the tension between us had completely changed.

“Mingqi…”

I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him as he held me close.

After seven days apart, it seemed all the emotions he’d been suppressing had finally found somewhere to go.

For once, there was no cold calculation in his eyes.

Only jealousy.

And longing.

He held me tightly against him, kissing me until my thoughts became a complete blur.

I knew exactly what had set him off.

That ridiculous photograph.

That stupid conversation about other men.

And, apparently, the idea that I might actually be interested in someone else.

“Tell me,” he murmured against my ear, his voice low and husky. “Who were you looking at?”

“No one.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Those handsome guys with all the filters?”

I almost laughed despite myself.

“You’re seriously jealous over that?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he tightened his arms around me.

The possessiveness in that gesture was almost absurd.

But somehow…

I didn’t hate it.

“Mingqi,” I whispered, “I wasn’t interested in him.”

“Then who are you interested in?”

I hesitated.

“You.”

He went still for a moment.

Then he looked at me.

His expression had completely changed.

“Say that again.”

“I said… you.”

The next kiss was gentler, but somehow even more intense.

For the first time, I realized just how much he’d been holding back.

We stayed together in the warm mist for a long while, neither of us willing to be the first to pull away.

Eventually, when we were both exhausted, he carried me out of the bathroom.

My head was still a little fuzzy when his low, gentle voice sounded beside my ear.

“Wife, we haven’t seen each other for a week… Did you miss me?”

There was something strangely familiar about the way he was acting clingy now.

At the same time, it felt completely new.

Our relationship had only just started to thaw, and I didn’t want to ruin it by making things tense again.

“I did.”

“How much?”

“Enough that I couldn’t sleep well at night.”

“You’re such a liar.”

Lu Mingqi chuckled softly, a teasing edge in his voice.

“From what I saw, you seemed to be having a pretty good time without me.”

“I wasn’t.”

I immediately denied it.

“Without you at home, I couldn’t eat properly or sleep well. I was practically wasting away.”

“Then why didn’t you text me?”

“Weren’t you busy?”

He gave a cold little laugh, once again deciding that I was a liar.

“Jiang Yueling, you can’t be like this.”

He lowered his head and rested his forehead against my shoulder, his warm breath brushing against my skin and making me shiver slightly.

“I’m human too. I can get hurt. I can feel lonely.”

His voice softened.

“Sometimes… I want you to take the initiative, too. I want you to care about me a little more.”

My heart suddenly started beating faster, and my face grew warm.

On one hand, I found it a little ridiculous for two people in a marriage of convenience to be talking about feelings like this.

But on the other…

I couldn’t stop the emotions rising inside me.

Truthfully, Lu Mingqi really was the kind of man who fit my idea of an ideal partner.

If we had started out as an ordinary couple in love, perhaps we would have made a pretty good match by now.

He pushed himself up and looked down at me.

I thought he was going to kiss me.

Instead, he simply reached over and ruffled my hair.

His expression suddenly became unusually serious.

“Go to the hospital with me tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Get your head checked.”

“…”

I was stunned for several seconds.

What the hell was he talking about?

I immediately pushed him away, half annoyed and half amused.

“Are you implying there’s something wrong with my brain? Say that again and see if I ever bother caring about you again.”

“And what do any of the things you just said have to do with each other?”

He lay back on the bed and pulled me into his arms again.

His voice carried a helpless sigh.

“I’ve been thinking about it for days… I can’t shake the feeling that something about you has changed. Especially after you got hurt.”

A thought immediately flashed through my mind.

Of course I seem different. Anyone who suddenly gained memories of the future would seem a little strange.

I didn’t argue.

I only sighed.

“Your instincts aren’t wrong. I… really have had something strange happen to me.”

I hesitated for a moment before asking,

“Do you believe it’s possible for someone to know the future?”